This book follows the male main character, Zade, and the female main character, predictably named Adeline. To get straight to the point, this is labeled as a stalker romance or a dark romance, but it is far from it. It is a story about a man who rapes a woman repeatedly while she cries and begs him to stop, and he excuses it by saying that her "pussy weeps for him", which implies that, since she's wet against her will, it means she wants what is happening. The book justifies this by saying that Adeline is turned on by fear, that she gets "in the mood" while watching horror movies, and that all Zade needs to do is hurt her and scare her enough to make her want it. Zade's name isn't even revealed until past chapter 20, and Adeline's job is "undisclosed writer" that never gets elaborated on other than that she's successful. Not only does the book end on a cliffhanger, but it ends with Adeline only even admitting to herself that she's fallen in love, which makes me think this was meant to be a romantic slow burn, when in reality all it does is draw attention to the fact that 90% of the sex scenes in this book are nonconsensual, and there are a lot. The other 10% is very iffy, because only once or twice does she say she wants it. He also genuinely hurts her on multiple occasions, while raping her, and she cries and screams and begs him to stop. As a victim of SA myself, I believe this book was written by someone who has never experienced that trauma, or at least did experience it and enjoyed it and decided to romanticize it. This is problematic because of all the men that want to "be" Zade. The infamous hun scene you may have heard of, where they have sex using a gun, is not consensual and it is also the first sex scene between the two of them in the book. In fact, she says to herself how badly it hurts her. And as a trans man, born female, to any males that think that the common excuse used by rapists in court "she was wet so she wanted it" is valid, simply put, it isn't. "Wetness" is a natural lubricant that you can't control, and it is not a sign of desire, it is simply your body's reaction to stimuli. To those males, imagine "math class boners", or things to that nature that happen when you aren't in the mood at all. And imagine if someone took advantage of you, hurt you in ways you didn't know you could be hurt, because your body "betrayed you" to them and proved that you wanted something you didn't. Adeline says that she hates herself, that she's ashamed and embarrassed, that the rape is her fault, when in all actuality, it truly is not. And any other rape survivors, it wasn't yours either.

Other than that, which like I said, is a huge part of the book, it is very well articulated. Being so well-written, it's infuriating that this author uses their genuine talent to write something like this that has influenced so many people into thinking that rape is okay. It isn't. Zade's "redeeming trait" is that he murders pedophiles, rapists, and sex traffickers for a living, but he even says that he's like them and that it's hypocritical. He excuses this by saying that since he's "in love" (obsessed) with her, it's okay, because she'll consent eventually, and until then he just has to rape her into submission. Break down her spirit until she *can't* say no anymore. And while BDSM in relationships, CONSENSUALLY, is perfectly okay, do not mistake this for CNC, or Consensual Non-Consent, because nothing about this was consensual in any way until well into this book, and even then, she only starts liking it during the act, which is still rape. All of that is to say, I don't believe that violent and frequent SA being very graphically described is part of the trigger warnings, so. Do with this information what you will, and remember that fiction is fiction. Do NOT use this book to excuse rape, EVER.

I swear this is my favorite book.

I just finished the book, and I am absolutely speechless right now. The book is so good. It's everything you would want and need in a book, it has a perfect blend of everything. I felt every emotion when reading, do not take the trigger warnings lightly.

The novel "Haunting Adeline" by H. D. Carlton is a beautiful and bewitching work that weaves together mystery and romance in a coherent whole. The author's articulate writing enlivens the characters and settings so well that the narrative becomes haunting and enchanting leaving the reader engrossed throughout. Despite the fact that Jane Eyre is a well-rounded character, Adeline is also developed with depth and complexity which increase the richness of story. Carlton's capacity to implant life like atmosphere and tension increases the immensity and the immersive nature of the novel. ‘Haunting Adeline’ is a book you should pick if you love a combination of romance, mystery and the unusual.

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